If someone rebuilds the engine and tightens down the valve cover bolt too tight (the main bolt actually snapped) could this cause the vehicle to throw a rod?

35

Asked by Christal619 Mar 19, 2013 at 08:43 PM about the 1996 Honda Civic Coupe DX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I just bought a 1996 Civic DX from a private seller. The car is absolutely clean, inside and out. My
neighbor joked that my engine is cleaner than his 3 year old Civic's engine. The seller claims to have
rebuilt the engine (odometer reads 147k) approximately 5000 miles ago. About a week after I bought the
car, it threw a rod pretty violently down and out through the oil pan. The car's fluids had just been
checked, it had plenty of oil- in fact, the oil was as clean as when you pour it out of a new bottle. But I
had noticed that the main valve cover bolt was loose, I wiggled it and it came out in my hand and looked
snapped off at the bottom. Could the seller have damaged something by over-tightening the valve cover
bolts? Or could he have done something incorrectly when he rebuilt the engine? Thank you for you
answers, I appreciate the help!

4 Answers

175,735

The valve cover is in no way connected to anything but the head. The rod coming apart may have been inexpensive parts and/or it may have been operating in excess of it's design limitations.

1 people found this helpful.
35

I'm getting another engine for it in about a week. Just kind of wondering if the guy who sold it to me was either a shoddy mechanic, or just a scam artist who sold me something he knew was bad. He advertises on Craigslist as a mobile mechanic. Thanks for your advice!

35

The car wasn't making any knocking sounds at all, nothing out of the ordinary. I've always heard that a car with issues in this area will make certain knocking noises. This one didn't. My brother lives about an hour and a half from me, he is getting an engine out of a junkyard and doing the work.

1 people found this helpful.
39,705

snafu, it happens ,probably swallowed a valve head,winding tight is risky

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